In recent years, Arsenal have been more than happy to adjust elements of their change kits.
This graphic was one we compiled on another of our sites showing all of the one-off combinations up to the end of 2012-13, while since then we have seen a quasi-Brazil look as well as an awful choice at Sheffield Wednesday, among others.
It wasn’t always like that, though. Until 1991, when the shorts of their away kit would cause a clash with their hosts, Arsenal would wear the white shorts of the home kit, a look first seen at Anfield, oddly enough, in 1977 (thanks to The Arsenal Shirt on Twitter for drawing our attention to that).
The yellow-white-yellow persisted throughout the 80s and up until the 1990-91 title-winning season, mainly at Southampton and sometimes at Sunderland and Sheffield United – incidentally, we have yet to ascertain if the home shorts were worn with the green away shirt at the Dell in 1982-83.
That all changed in 1991-92, though. Since arriving in 1986, the only deviation in the classic Arsenal home and away colourways that adidas had provided was the white socks worn at Watford but now, for the first time, yellow shorts were available.
With new signing Ian Wright having scored on his debut away to Leicester City in the Rumbelows Cup on September 25 (wearing number 9, for the only time in his Arsenal career), he made his league bow away to The Saints on September 28 and scored a hat-trick in a 4-0 win.
Incidentally, Wright would also bag three goals at home to Southampton in a 5-1 win on the final day of the season, securing fourth place, with the yellow shorts having been worn away to Sheffield United in the fourth-last game too.
As mentioned in a recent article, when the Premier League was established, shorts-clashes were no longer required to be dealt with, and so Arsenal dispensed with the yellow shorts, wearing the normal away kit at Southampton (Sheffield United had switched to white home shorts for 92-93).
The next time they would wear yellow shorts would be against Mallorca on September 11, 2001, while the all-yellow look wouldn’t return until the 2010-11 season.
